Theophagy
Theophagy is a word of Ancient Greek origin that means "the feeding on a god" or "eating/devouring god", from θεός (Theós, “god”) and the suffix -phagy (to feed on, to eat/devour).
In fertility rituals, the harvested grain may itself be the reborn god of vegetation. This practice has origins in ancient religions: Dionysus and many examples are documented in The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer (1854–1941)
See also
- life-death-rebirth deity
- descent to the underworld
- anthropophagy
- Eucharist
- human sacrifice
- Bacteriophage